GUN being able to legally carry a hand gun

Unfortunately I'm finding myself spending more time in the ghetto areas around my university than I'd like. Since several incidents happening to me (theft, nab and grab) have prompted me to try to get some kind of defense. my only experience with guns was skeet shooting back in boyscouts, so I'm completely ignorant as to laws and other aspects of owning a gun. I want to get some kind of a pistol that I could either keep in my glove box or on my person, but do not know where to go from here. I have no idea what kinds of pistols there are available, nor what certifications/licenses I'd need to legally own and carry one in the state of florida. could someone help me get started in the right direction? I am 22, if that clears up any age issues

Unless covered under the exceptions, it is unlawful to openly carry on or about the person any firearm, or to "carry a concealed firearm on or about the person" without a license.

Exceptions:

1. Persons having firearms at their home or place of business.
2. "Regularly enrolled members of any organization duly authorized to purchase or receive weapons from the United States or from this state, or regularly enrolled members of clubs organized for target, skeet, or trapshooting, while at, or going to or from shooting practice."
3. Members of clubs organized for collecting antique or modern firearms while at or going to or from exhibitions.
4. Persons engaged in fishing, camping or hunting and while going to or from such activity.
5. Persons engaged in target shooting "under safe conditions and in a safe place" or while going to or from such place.
6. Persons who are firing weapons for target practice in "a safe and secure indoor range."
7. Persons traveling by private conveyance if the weapon is securely encased, or in a public conveyance if the weapon is securely encased and not in person`s manual possession.
8. Persons carrying a pistol unloaded and in a secure wrapper from place of purchase to their home or to a place of repair and back.
9. Persons engaged in the business of manufacturing, repairing or dealing in firearms.
10. Military, law enforcement personnel and private guards while so employed.
11. It is lawful to possess a concealed firearm for self defense or other lawful purposes within the interior of a private conveyance, without a license, if the firearm is securely encased or is otherwise not readily accessible for immediate use. Nothing herein contained prohibits the carrying of a firearm other than a handgun anywhere in a private conveyance when such firearm is being carried for a lawful use. The exemption shall not authorize the carrying of a firearm concealed on the person.

"Securely encased" is defined as encased in a glove compartment, whether or not locked; in a snapped holster; in a gun case, whether or not locked; in a zippered gun case; or in a closed box or container which requires a lid or cover to be opened for access. "Readily accessible for immediate use" means that a firearm or other weapon is carried on the person or within such close proximity and in such a manner that it can be retrieved and used as easily and quickly as if carried on the person.

Application for a license to carry a handgun concealed is made to the Department of Agriculture. The license is valid for 5 years throughout the state. The application shall be completed, under oath, on a form promulgated by the Department of Agriculture and shall include the applicant`s name, address, place and date of birth, race, and occupation. The initial license fee is not to exceed $85 plus the cost of processing the fingerprint card. Renewal fee is not to exceed $70 (fingerprint card is not required on renewal licenses). However, at the discretion of the Department of Agriculture, the fees may be lower than the statutory cap.

Fingerprinting must be conducted by a law enforcement agency of the state. The sheriff`s office shall provide fingerprinting service to the applicant and may charge a fee of up to $5.

The Department of Agriculture shall issue a license if the applicant (a) is at least 21 and a resident of the United States; (b) does not suffer from a physical infirmity which prevents the safe handling of a firearm; (c) is not a convicted felon; (d) has not within a 3-year period preceding submission of the application been convicted of a crime of violence or committed for drug abuse or been convicted of a minor drug offense; (e) has not been adjudicated an incapacitated person, unless he has waited 5 years from the date of his court-ordered restoration to capacity, or been committed to a mental institution, unless he possesses a psychiatrist`s certificate that he has not suffered from the disability for five years; (f) is not a chronic or habitual drunkard; (g) demonstrates competence with a firearm by showing proof of completion of a state hunter safety course, or any NRA firearms safety or training course, completion of any firearms safety or training course or class available to the general public offered by the police or by instructors certified by NRA, Department of Agriculture, or Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission at a public or private school, completion of a firearms safety or training course offered for security guards, investigators, or special deputies, completion of any firearm training or safety course or class conducted by a state or NRA certified firearms instructor, presents evidence of equivalent experience with a firearm through participation in organized shooting competition or military service, or is licensed or has been licensed to carry a firearm in Florida or in its counties and towns; and (h) states that he "desires a legal means to carry a concealed weapon or firearm for lawful self-defense"; (i) has not be adjudicated guilty even with a suspended sentence for a felony of misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, unless 3 years has elapsed since probation or the record is sealed or expunged; (j) is not currently under any injunction restraining the applicant from acts of Domestic Violence or repeated acts of violence.

A license shall not authorize any person to carry a concealed weapon or firearm into any place of nuisance, police station, detention facility, courthouse, polling place, meeting of any state, county, municipal, or special district governing body, any school, any professional or school athletic event not related to firearms, portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, inside the sterile and passenger area of an airport, or any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law.

The Department of Agriculture must be notified within 30 days of changing a permanent address, destruction or losing a license. A duplicate license costs $15.00. A person must carry his license together with valid identification, such as a driver`s license.

The licensing law "shall be liberally construed to carry out the Constitutional right to bear arms for self defense."

A resident of the United States who is a nonresident of Florida, may carry a concealed weapon or concealed firearm while in this state if that person is 21 years of age or older, has in his or her immediate possession a valid license to carry a concealed weapon or firearm issued by the state of their residence, and abides by the Florida laws on carrying a concealed weapon or firearm.

Glocks explode
HKs have a crappy trigger
SIGs have an 8 minle reset on the trigger
Rugers are shit
Kahr is suposed to have an amazing DA trigger, but i've never shot one
1911s have and awsome reset, but I personally would not carry one
Walther > * (best trigger, comfy, easy to conceal, fast as fuck when shooting)

Glocks explode
HKs have a crappy trigger
SIGs have an 8 minle reset on the trigger
Rugers are shit
Kahr is suposed to have an amazing DA trigger, but i've never shot one
1911s have and awsome reset, but I personally would not carry one
Walther > * (best trigger (next to the XD's), comfy, easy to conceal, fast as fuck when shooting)

Glocks explode
HKs have a crappy trigger
SIGs have an 8 minle reset on the trigger
Rugers are shit
Kahr is suposed to have an amazing DA trigger, but i've never shot one
1911s have and awsome reset, but I personally would not carry one
Walther > * (best trigger, comfy, easy to conceal, fast as fuck when shooting)